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The International Women’s Day has been celebrated the world over with events marking and celebrating the day since 1911. This year, the Dancing Damsels Inc., a registered non-profit multicultural dance promotions company for women empowerment, commemorated the day on Saturday March 18th, at the Toronto City Hall (100 Queen Street West, Toronto, ON M5H 2N2). The event, DD Women Achievement Awards 2017, celebrated and recognized the social, economic and political success of women in our community.

Hon. Dr. Kirsty Duncan MP (Minister of Science) today presented the
Life Time Achievement Award to Dr. Roberta Bondar & Dr. Menaka Thakkar for
their lifetime achievements and lifelong contribution to the community.

As the world’s first neurologist in space, Dr. Roberta Bondar
is globally recognized for her pioneering contribution to space medicine
research. Aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery mission STS-42 in 1992, she conducted
experiments in the first International Microgravity Laboratory, a precursor to
the International Space Station.

For more than a decade at NASA, Dr. Bondar headed an
international space medicine research team finding new connections between
astronauts recovering from the microgravity of space and neurological illnesses
here on Earth such as stroke and Parkinson’s disease. These research techniques
have been used in clinical studies at the B. I. Deaconess Medical Center, a
teaching hospital of Harvard Medical School and at the University of New
Mexico.

A true renaissance woman, Dr. Bondar was trained in
professional nature and landscape photography, and is an acclaimed photographer
of the natural wonders of our planet. As an author, environmental educator and
celebrated landscape photographer, Dr. Bondar has also earned a reputation as a
leading speaker and consultant within the medical and scientific communities,
and in the field of corporate social responsibility and care for the Earth's environment.

Dr. Menaka Thakkar is the first Indian dancer to receive the
Canada council Walter Carsen Prize for the excellence in Performing Arts and
the Governor General’s Award for Lifetime Achievement in dance. She is also the
first Indian dance artist to have received an honorary doctorate from York
University where she taught as Adjunct Professor in the dance department for
several decades.

She has been a major figure in Canada’s dance landscape,
where she has created a several generations of Indian dancers across the
country, in the classical systems of Bharatanatyam and Odissi. As a
choreographer, she has created a large number of original works and
successfully experimented with new forms, movement and dance vocabulary, thus
making fundamental contributions to the development of neoclassical and
contemporary forms of Indian dance.

Her own performances have ranged internationally over a large
number of cities and countries in a brilliant 50 year performing career. She
became a leading voice for obtaining funding support for Indian dance as a
classical art form from the Canada Council for the Arts.

The key note address, on the International Women’s Day 2017 theme “Be Bold for Change”, was given by the chief guest of the event Almas Jiwani, President of UN Women
Canada National Committee and CEO of Almas Jiwani Foundation. Almas Jiwani is a fiercely vocal
champion for gender equality. She is internationally renowned for her efforts
to encourage women’s social, economic, and political empowerment. She
spearheads initiatives where corporate growth intersects with humanitarian
development.

A model of perseverance and determination, Ms. Jiwani’s efforts
to strengthen women’s economic capacity as entrepreneurs and producers have
earned her accolades. She plays a crucial role in building networks among
charitable institutions and socially responsible businesses.

Ms. Jiwani is a powerful and influential
speaker and she continues to travel across the globe to deliver keynote
addresses, speeches, and presentations on improving the status of women. She
addressed over 400 parliamentarians from 42 countries on the benefits of
economically empowering women and the roles and responsibilities of
parliamentarians at the International Assembly in the Dominican Republic and
Quebec City.

As a part of the IWD
celebrations, Dancing Damsels presented the winners the Women Achiever
Awards 2017, which is the highest honor conferred by Dancing Damsels to women
whose outstanding achievement has made a difference in the community.

Hon. Dr. Kirsty Duncan MP (Minister of Science) , Ramesh Sangha MP, Indian Consul Usha Venkatesan, Padmini Anand were the Guests of Honor who greeted for the organizers of the event and gave away the prestigious DD Women Achiever Awards for 2017.